Elliott Academy of Excellence

Tons of Free Math Videos

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:28:00 +0000

I believe someone posted a link to this website on the LivingMath! yahoo group a while back. I took a look at Khan Academy and was amazed at all of the math help available there.

Salman Khan, the founder of the website, has made YouTube videos for many math topics, from basic addition to calculus. These are basic chalk on blackboard style lectures, but the concepts are clearly explained and follow ordered lessons that are labeled by topic.

These videos would make a great supplement to a math program and might help students understand concepts they are struggling with. You might be able to use these as a basis for a custom-tailored math program along with other resources and practice problems. However, I am not a math expert. If anyone uses the videos this way, I would be interested to know how it works for you.

There are also SAT Prep videos that offer explanations of the problems in the practice tests of "The Official SAT Study Guide!" You will need the book. The Khan Academy SAT Prep page gives suggestions for using the book and videos.

Enjoy!

Summer Reading Programs and Contests

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:19:00 +0000

I like to give my children the opportunity to enter summer reading programs and contests. They all read quite a bit, but it's nice to have a little incentive sometimes. It's a bit late, but here are a few programs that I found this year (As always, check out the sites first to see if you are comfortable with having your children use them.):

Scholastic Summer Challenge - Kids sign up, take a quiz to get sorted into teams, log minutes read and read for a cause, Save the Children. At the end of the year, the winning reading team gets to choose which Save the Children U.S. program will receive a donation.

Summer Reading Splash - This reading program is hosted by HomeschoolBlogger and includes Splish's Blog, where children may share their reading lists, enter weekly contests and interact with others. Download the reading log for younger students here and for older students here.

Barnes & Noble - Children in grades 1-6 download a reading journal to keep track of the books they read and record their favorite parts. Return the completed form (8 books) to a local Barnes & Noble for a free book (books are pre-selected by age and based on local availability).

Don't forget to check your library! All of the libraries around us have summer reading programs with prizes.

Tornado Video

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:37:00 +0000

We studied tornadoes yesterday, and today I saw that Kris at At Home Science posted a video that shows inside the top of a tornado! I love it when that happens!

The team that recorded the video is from Vortex 2, a field research program studying tornadoes.

Here is the video:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Amazing, isn't it?

Free Writing Webinars

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:52:00 +0000

Tapestry of Grace is offering a free 2-hour mini-seminar on teaching your children to write by Marcia Somerville.

I own her Writing Workshop CDs, and I found these workshops to be extremely helpful! Marcia has a baby-step way of explaining how to teach your children to write that makes you feel like you are never behind.
It looks like this webinar is the same as the Writing Workshop that I own, but it is free! You do have to register, and "seating" is limited.

Here are the links to read a summary of each session and register:

Writing Workshop I: June 15, 3:00-4:00 pm (EDT)

Session 1 Registration and Workshop Summary

Session 1 Handout (pdf)

Writing Workshop II: June 15, 8:00-9:00 pm (EDT)

Session 2 Registration and Workshop Summary

Session 2 Handout (pdf)

Click here and go to the "Workshops" tab to keep up on all of the current webinars offered by Tapestry of Grace. You will find several virtual conference workshops available:

"Teaching with Tapestry of Grace"
"Introduction to Tapestry of Grace DE (Digital Edition)"
"Writing Workshop I"
"Writing Workshop II" (free download available - Windows Media Player needed)
"The Nearness of God is my Good" (free download available - Windows Media Player needed)
"Teaching Devotional Techniques to our Kids: a Toolbox Approach"

There are several handouts available for the various workshops:
Materials Download Page

These virtual conferences will be going on throughout the summer, so be sure to check back at this link to stay updated!

Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday - May 4

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Mon, 04 May 2009 22:49:00 +0000

I put my menu plan on Google Calendar with daily cooking notes and links to recipes. I have that set up to e-mail me an agenda every day. I also keep it current each day if I change meals. My menu planning calendar is available here if you are interested in seeing it.

Monday

Breakfast: oatmeal with homemade applesauce
Lunch: leftover chili on homemade ww tortillas
Dinner: Crockpot Chicken and Quinoa

Tuesday

Breakfast: green smoothies
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Curried Sprouted Lentils with a Ginger & Garlic Cilantro Sauce (this will be moved to Wednesday if the lentils & wheat aren't sprouted yet)

Wednesday

Breakfast: cooked millet
Lunch: salmon patties, celery sticks
Dinner: Garlicky White Bean Soup with Dark Greens

Thursday

Breakfast: green smoothies
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Crockpot Taco Soup (scroll down to "Thursday" for recipe)

Friday

Breakfast: kasha (I am going to try soaking and drying the buckwheat before toasting this time)
Lunch: leftovers or sandwiches
Dinner: spaghetti with meat sauce, salad

Saturday

Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: leftovers or sandwiches
Dinner: not sure yet :-)

Sunday

We usually eat a late lunch/early dinner after church and graze if we're hungry later. :-)

Breakfast: toast, hard-boiled eggs
Lunch/Dinner: grilled spareribs, baked potatoes, salad

For more menu plans, go to orgjunkie.com.

Menu Plan Monday - April 27

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:14:00 +0000

The potato sausage chowder that I made last week fed us for several meals! It was yummy, but I think I'll cut the recipe in half next time. :-)

I put my menu plan on Google Calendar with daily cooking notes and links to recipes. I have that set up to e-mail me an agenda every day. I also keep it current each day if I change meals. My menu planning calendar is available here if you are interested in seeing it.

Monday

Breakfast: green yogurt smoothies, toast
Lunch: black bean chili (from freezer), carrot sticks
Dinner: spaghetti with meat sauce, salad

Tuesday

Breakfast: oatmeal, apple slices
Lunch: probably sandwiches
Dinner: garam masala red lentil soup

Wednesday

Breakfast: green smoothies, toast
Lunch: grilled cheese sandwiches, homemade tomato soup (this soup is wonderful!)
Dinner: beef stroganoff, green beans

Thursday

Breakfast: cooked millet, orange slices
Lunch: black bean chili (from freezer)
Dinner: grilled salmon, green beans, scalloped potatoes & carrots

Friday

Breakfast: blender batter pancakes, eggs, fruit
Lunch: leftovers or sandwiches
Dinner: chicken stir fry with brown rice & lots of veggies

Saturday

It's soccer season, so we can't do the Brunch/Dinner thing for a while. :-)

Breakfast: green smoothies, eggs
Lunch: leftovers or sandwiches
Dinner: taco potatoes, salad or cooked veggie

Sunday

We usually eat a late lunch/early dinner after church and graze if we're hungry later. :-)

Breakfast: toast, hard-boiled eggs
Lunch/Dinner: chili, blender batter cornbread, salad

For more menu plans, go to orgjunkie.com.

Menu Plan Monday - April 20

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:38:00 +0000

I really did not menu plan at all last week, and it definitely messed up our budget. This week's meals will come from foods already in our pantry, except some dairy and fresh produce. I am hoping to do a bit of stockpiling this week.

I put my menu plan on Google Calendar with daily cooking notes and links to recipes. I have that set up to e-mail me an agenda every day. I also keep it current each day if I change meals. My menu planning calendar is available here if you are interested in seeing it.

Monday

Breakfast: oatmeal, apple slices
Lunch: black bean burritos, carrot sticks
Dinner: spaghetti with meat sauce, salad

Tuesday

Breakfast: green yogurt smoothies, muffins
Lunch: navy bean soup (leftover)
Dinner: potato sausage chowder

Wednesday

Breakfast: cooked millet, apple slices
Lunch: grilled cheese sandwiches, homemade tomato soup
Dinner: chicken stir fry with brown rice & lots of veggies

Thursday

Breakfast: green kefir smoothies, sourdough toast
Lunch: black bean chili (from freezer)
Dinner: beef enchiladas (recipe is for chicken, but I'm using beef), corn

Friday

Breakfast: baked oatmeal, apple slices
Lunch: leftovers or sandwiches
Dinner: grilled salmon, green beans, scalloped potatoes & carrots

Saturday

I'm trying a large brunch and see if I can get away with two meals, as I do a lot of cooking & baking for the week on Saturdays.

Brunch: blender batter pancakes, homemade turkey sausage or eggs, fruit
Dinner: chili, blender batter cornbread, salad

Sunday

We usually eat a late lunch/early dinner after church and graze if we're hungry later. :-)

Breakfast: toast, hard-boiled eggs, fruit
Lunch/Dinner: leftovers (I hope!)

For more menu plans, go to orgjunkie.com.

Resurrection Day Links

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:39:00 +0000

It's a bit late for this, but I have seen so many great ideas for celebrating Resurrection Day that I wanted to be sure to post some of them.

I love the Names of Jesus Garland at The Homespun Heart. Hat tip to Keeper of the Home for the link. I adapted this to use as a children's ministry craft. You can read about that here if you are interested.

Holy Experience shares instructions for making an Easter Garden. Although we should have had this ready for Palm Sunday according to the directions, we're making one today or tomorrow (haven't found plants yet) because it is such a beautiful and visual way of "remembering of the grief of old beginning, the dazzling wondering of new beginnings." If you haven't visited this blog before, be sure to stop by just for a taste of the writing!

Make your own Resurrection Eggs. I use these in our children's ministry every year. We hide them and everyone takes turns opening his/her egg, sharing the contents and reading the Scripture. It is a fun, interactive way to share the Scriptures relating to Jesus' death and resurrection.

We have also made Resurrection Rolls before. We make these on Saturday evening, but we leave them in the oven overnight, "sealing" it with tape. We "unseal" the oven in the morning and pull out the rolls after I have warmed the rolls up a bit. The first time we made them, the kids couldn't believe that the "tombs" were empty the next day! We are going to try making our own marshmallows for this instead of buying them.

The Archaeological Study Bible's Easter Story Site includes notes, images and information about several historical aspects of the Resurrection.

The Urban Homemaker shared a link in her e-newsletter to a 5-day Easter Unit Study. Again, this is a bit late, but you could still squeeze some of it in.

Hold That Thought offers printable Easter-related Scriptures and quotes to make into a Scripture card ring. They also provide instructions and a template for children to make their own Story of Easter, scrapbook style.

Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday - April 6

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 09:00:00 +0000

We ended up having leftovers a couple of times last week (almost unheard of in this house), so I didn't make everything on my menus. I love it when that happens! Because of that, I have some duplicates.

The breakfasts look large with whole grains and smoothies or a protein, but I am using smaller servings. I am trying to get a nice variety of nutrients in first thing every day. Ideas are appreciated!

Monday

Breakfast: oatmeal, green kefir smoothie
Lunch: quesadillas, carrot sticks
Dinner: Tuna Noodle Casserole, green beans

Tuesday

Breakfast: Leftover Oatmeal Muffins, scrambled eggs, fruit
Lunch: PB & J, celery sticks

Dinner: Lentils & Rice Casserole, salad

Wednesday

Breakfast: cooked millet, green kefir smoothie
Lunch: Crockpot Spaghetti, salad
Dinner: Red Beans & Rice (recipe below), green beans

Thursday

Breakfast: sourdough toast, fried eggs, fruit
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Sloppy Joes, Baked Fries, salad

Friday

Breakfast: Fruit & Yogurt Delight with homemade granole
Lunch: grilled cheese sandwiches, carrot sticks

Dinner: Homemade Pizza, salad

Saturday

I'm going to try a large brunch and see if I can get away with two meals, as I do a lot of cooking & baking for the week on Saturdays.

Brunch: Blender Batter Pancakes, Homemade Turkey Sausage, fruit
Dinner: spaghetti with meat sauce or homemade pizza, salad

Sunday

We usually eat a late lunch/early dinner after church and graze if we're hungry later. :-)

Breakfast: toast, hard-boiled eggs, fruit
Lunch/Dinner: Easter meal

My menu plan calendar is available here if you are interested in seeing it. I keep that current each day when meals change (as they often do). It also includes daily cooking notes. I have it set up to send me an agenda via e-mail every day, which is very helpful.

For more menu plans, go to orgjunkie.com.

Red Beans & Rice

1 T palm fruit oil, coconut oil or olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb homemade turkey sausage, breakfast sausage or smoked sausage
1 t oregano
1 t thyme
1/2 t basil
1/2 t black pepper
2 cups homemade chicken broth or 1 can chicken broth (add water if you need more liquid)
2 bay leaves
2 cups cooked red beans (I cook a bunch and freeze in 2-cup portions) or 1 can red beans
2-3 cups cooked brown rice (I keep 2-cup portions of cooked rice in my freezer)

1. Heat oil in a large skillet or pot while you chop your onion and celery.
2. Add onion and celery and saute until fragrant.
3. Add garlic and saute for a few seconds, then add sausage IF using breakfast sausage (if you are using smoked sausage you will add it later). Break up sausage while it cooks.
4. When sausage is cooked through, add oregano, thyme, basil and black pepper and mix in.
5. Add chicken broth, bay leaves, red beans and rice (and sausage if using smoked sausage). Stir, bring to a boil, turn heat down to medium and cook until the chicken broth is evaporated (you will have to stir it so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan).
6. Serve and enjoy!

Free One-Year Missions Unit Study

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 12:58:00 +0000

I downloaded Mission-Minded LIFE: Teaching With God's Heart for the World last fall, looked through it, was very impressed, and never used it. :-) I already had a pretty packed homeschool schedule, but I knew I would want to use this at some point. However, the book may not be available for free much longer, so I wanted to make sure I posted about it.

The curriculum is written by Ann Dunagan, a homeschooling mother of seven, author, and co-founder (with her husband, Jon) of Harvest Ministry. She blogs about being a mission-minded family at the Missions and Your Family section of the Harvest Ministry website.

Teaching With God's Heart for the World is a two-volume out-of-print book that "presents a 'whirlwind tour' of God's enduring passion for missions - all-the-way through world history and all-across-the-globe."

I cannot give this extensive curriculum full justice here. You could use this as a year-long, multi-level homeschool unit study; stick mainly with the devotionals; pick countries or sections to enhance history or geography studies; or focus specifically on the missions teachings. There are also a number of teaching tips that are valuable apart from a study of missions.

This 600-plus page book is broken up into several sections because of its size, which makes it a bit difficult to navigate. Printing out the tables of contents for each volume and marking them with the downloaded section numbers would be very helpful.

This curriculum may not be available as a free download for long, so I encourage you to take advantage of it. The download is available here. Day 1 of the Daily Lesson Plans in Volume 1 Part 3 is missing, so don't miss the link for that, which is in the description paragraph of the Volume 1 Part 3 download.

If you download this and decide to use it, I would love to hear how you are using it. I am still trying to figure that out. :-)

Menu Plan Monday - March 30

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:54:00 +0000

I've been doing my menu plans on Google Calendar for a while, but I really miss the camaraderie of this meme, so I decided to post again. :-)

The breakfasts look large with whole grains and smoothies or a protein, but I am using smaller servings. I am trying to get a nice variety of nutrients in first thing every day. Ideas are appreciated!

Monday

Breakfast: oatmeal, green kefir smoothie
Lunch: toasted tuna sandwiches, carrot sticks
Dinner: Crockpot Chicken and Quinoa (I'm adding pre-cooked chicken in towards the end of the cooking time since that's all I have), salad

Tuesday

Breakfast: Leftover Oatmeal Muffins, scrambled eggs, fruit
Lunch: grilled cheese sandwiches, salad
Dinner: Ground Beef & Cabbage with brown rice

Wednesday

Breakfast: cooked millet, green kefir smoothie
Lunch: Pizza Toasts (from Nourishing Traditions), salad
Dinner: Chicken Enchiladas, corn

Thursday

Breakfast: sourdough toast, fried eggs, fruit
Lunch: PB & J, carrot sticks
Dinner: Crockpot Taco Soup (4th recipe), Blender Batter Cornbread, green beans

Friday

Breakfast: Kasha, green kefir or yogurt smoothie
Lunch: Ground Beef & Cabbage Pockets (from freezer)
Dinner: Lentil & Rice Casserole (2nd recipe), salad

Saturday

I'm going to try a large brunch and see if I can get away with two meals, as I do a lot of cooking & baking for the week on Saturdays.

Brunch: Blender Batter Pancakes, Homemade Turkey Sausage, fruit
Dinner: spaghetti with meat sauce or homemade pizza, salad

Sunday

We usually eat a late lunch/early dinner after church and graze if we're hungry later. :-)

Breakfast: toast, hard-boiled eggs, fruit
Lunch/Dinner: Crockpot Chicken Chili (I am using homemade chicken broth, my own cooked beans and fresh tomatoes instead of canned)

My menu plan calendar is available here if you are interested. It includes daily cooking notes. I have it set up to send me an agenda via e-mail every day, which is very helpful.

For more menu plans, go to orgjunkie.com.

My Husband's Workout Video

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:06:00 +0000

I can't believe I forgot to post this! Enjoy!

rob elliotts work out video from caveman on Vimeo

Beatboxing Flute: "Peter and the Wolf"

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:54:00 +0000

This is amazing!

My Annual Jesse Tree Post

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:57:00 +0000

Making a Jesse Tree as a family during the Advent season over the last three years really helped our family to focus on Jesus during the holidays. In fact, the first year we did a Jesse tree was the first year that we had a fairly relaxed holiday season, and that was with four children, ages 6, 8, 10 and 11. I think that purposefully taking the focus off ourselves and our own little family had a lot to do with that.

Last year we discovered the inductive method Advent study that I posted about and attempted to do that and the Jesse tree. That was a bit too much. We managed to do the Jesse tree and our usual Advent readings, but we didn't do much with the study.

We sat down as a family a few weeks ago to plan out the holidays a bit, and the kids asked if we could skip the Jesse tree this year and do the Advent study instead. We'll miss it, but we agreed. New traditions are good too!

If you are interested in learning about the Jesse tree and possibly using one this season, it starts this Friday, November 28. The links from my past Jesse tree posts are still active and updated for this year, so I will re-post those.

This site has simple printable ornaments in two sizes and Jesse Tree readings here. I printed the ornaments out on card stock and had my daughters cut them out, hole-punch them, and tie ribbon around each one. I already had a miniature Christmas tree, so I decided to use that rather than make one. The "Advent Reflections" (updated for 2008) include a short Scripture reading, a synopsis of the actual Bible story mentioned, and the Bible verses to read the whole story. When we are busy, we just do the short reading and synopsis. When we have more time, we read the entire story from the Bible.

Here are some other Jesse Tree links if anyone is interested:

Making a Jesse Tree
(this one looks really cute for younger children)

The Jesse Tree
(this is an article with background information, directions for making a Jesse Tree and a chart of Scripture readings)

The Jesse Tree at Domestic-Church.com

Enjoy!

Free Inductive Method Advent Study

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 21:49:00 +0000

We did a free Advent study last year with the kids that uses the inductive method, and I actually remembered to look for it again this year before Advent begins! Actually, Kathryn (our youngest) requested it, so I should not take the credit. :-) The study was written by Eleanor Zweigle and is hosted for free at Our Grace Journey.

This study is a wonderful way to help keep your focus on Jesus and to introduce the inductive Bible study method to children.

Click here to go to the download page for the Advent study.

Enjoy!

Responses to the Election

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:44:00 +0000

I have written a response to the election at my other blog. You may read it here if you are interested. I have read some great responses to the election that I wanted to share:

President Obama

Admonition by John Calvin on the Election

Ligon Duncan on How You Should Pray for President-elect Obama

No Matter Who You Voted For

A United House

Blogger Friend School: Class of 2008-2009

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:09:00 +0000

It's time to enroll in Blogger Friend School! Last year was my first year participating in this meme, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It looks like this will be a full and exciting year, beginning with a "Back to School Giveaway."

This year, there will be a Head of the Class award for everyone who completes all of the assignments for the year. However, for those of us who get busy and miss assignments, there is also an incentive for completing all of the assignments in any given month: the Perfect Attendance Award. The greatest incentive for completing assignments, in my opinion, is the encouragement that you will receive from other "classmates."

If you have never participated in Blogger Friend School, I encourage you to give it a try. Here are a few links if you would like more information:

The "Back to School Giveaway" is running from August 25th to October 6th - definitely check it out because the "prize package" looks wonderful!

2008-2009 Curriculum Plan

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:00:00 +0000

This topic for this week's Heart of the Matter Online Meme is What We Are Using This Year.

Our 2008-2009 Curriculum Plan

Everyone

Bible: Heart of Wisdom Bible Study
Tapestry of Grace Year 3: This covers history, geography, literature, writing, church history and fine arts for everyone, as well as government for Nathan. I adapt it for each child.
Nature Study: The Outdoor Hour Challenge
Art: Art class once a month

Kathryn, grade 4:

Math: Math Mammoth, Living Math!
Science: Christian Kids Explore Earth & Space
Copywork, Dictation, Spelling: Spelling Wisdom

Allyson, grade 6:

Math: Math Mammoth, Living Math!, Key to... Series books
Science: Christian Kids Explore Earth & Space
Grammar: Easy Grammar Plus (at her request)
Copywork, Dictation: The Shelter: Psalm 91 Copywork
Music: Piano

Jordan, grade 8:

Math: Teaching Textbooks 7
Science: Physical Science with a focus on Electronics (we are developing our own program using Science Scope, by Kathryn Stout, and various books and Internet sites - lots of hands-on)
Copywork, Dictation, Spelling: Spelling Wisdom

Nathan, grade 9 (we are still working on this, but it is pretty much complete; course names may change):

English I: Tapestry of Grace Year 3 Literature & Writing components, 1 credit
Algebra I: Algebra 1: Expressions, Equations, and Applications, by Paul Foerster (see Maria Miller's article about this), 1 credit
Western Civilization: the 1800's: Tapestry of Grace, 1/2 credit
U.S. History: Tapestry of Grace, 1/2 credit
Earth Science: We are developing our own curriculum together, 1 credit
Government Studies III: Tapestry of Grace, 1/2 credit
Spanish I: Speedy Spanish I and supplements, 1/2 credit (Speedy Spanish I & II will be done over 1-2 years and will furnish Nathan with 1 credit for Spanish I)
History of Fine Arts: the 1800's: Tapestry of Grace, 1/4 credit
Church History: the 1800's: Tapestry of Grace, 1/2 credit
Music: Guitar, 1/2 credit
PE: The President's Challenge, 1/2 credit

If you would like to participate in this meme, go here.

My Favorite Curriculum

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 19:33:00 +0000

This topic for this week's Heart of the Matter Online Meme is Favorite Curriculum or Books.

My favorite curriculum is definitely Tapestry of Grace. This will be our fourth year using TOG, and it has worked out really well for us. TOG covers history, geography, literature, writing, fine arts, government and philosphy using a classical style unit study approach. The main focus of the program is to teach your children to identify God's hand throughout history.

Although TOG is an extremely rich curriculum, I do supplement with Diana Waring "What in the World's Going on Here?" CDs. We listen to the appropriate topics as an overview before each TOG week.

I also love the resources by A Blessed Heritage. I used This Far by Faith Volume 1 last year, and it meshed well with our TOG studies. I used it as a supplement, adding to or replacing some of the TOG literature selections. It is very important to us to incorporate an in-depth study of African American history into our curriculum, and these inexpensive unit studies, written by a homeschooler, are a perfect fit.

For math in the younger years, I like the Living Math website, Miquon Math and Math Mammoth books. I also love the Key to... Series books. Last year, I decided to purchase Teaching Textbooks 7 for my two oldest boys (then 7th & 8th grade). Nathan is almost finished with that, and it looks like he will be ready for Algebra I, but I'll have to let you know about that when he is done. :-) As you can see, my approach to math is pretty eclectic. Nathan, my oldest, is the guinea pig (sorry, son); we'll see how it goes.

The Heart of Wisdom Bible Study is wonderful and free! I also really like Robin Sampson's Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach (I have the e-book). Although I use and love TOG, I have gleaned a lot from HOWTA. It has helped me tweak my curriculum. In fact, it has inspired me to organize a high school earth science curriculum for my oldest son's ninth grade science course. We are working on this together.

We really enjoyed Christian Kids Explore Biology. It is recommended for upper elementary, but I adapted it for my older two (7th & 8th grades). I just found out that there is a Christian Kids Explore Earth & Space! I definitely have to look into that; maybe I'll use it with the younger kids this year. I wish I had known about it before Nathan and I started working on his earth science "curriculum." The list of extra resources at the end of the Biology book was worth the cost of the book itself, so I am guessing that it is the same for the Earth & Science book. Hmmm...

This will be our first year with a high school student, and I found Homeschooling: The Teen Years, to be extremely informative and encouraging.

Well, that is enough from me. :-) Time to check out everyone else's favs. If you would like to participate, go here.

Preparing for High School, pt. 2

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:43:00 +0000

In my last post, I went over some of the ways we began preparing and thinking about high school in our oldest son's middle school years. Rob and I also prayed and talked to Nathan about his interests and abilities to see what kinds of careers he might be interested in and seek God's direction for His plan for Nathan's life (this is ongoing, of course). As Nathan will likely attend college, I did some research on our state's graduation requirements, CLEP testing and dual enrollment, and looked over some popular college's admission recommendations.

As stated in my first post, our current research for our oldest son is based on a college prep course because we are not yet sure what God has called him to do. We are not planning on locking ourselves into a rigid and traditional college prep course. We plan to remain flexible if the Lord opens up other opportunities.

Researching Graduation and College Admission Recommendations

I would like to stress here that it is important to find out your state's graduation requirements for home schools. In Michigan, home schooled students are required to complete one semester of Civics/Government - that's it. Try doing a Google search for "your state's home school graduation requirements" and "your state's graduation requirements," comparing them. It is really up to you, your student and your student's future goals as to how strictly you adhere to state public school graduation requirements if they vary from home school graduation requirements.

I downloaded Michigan's public school graduation requirements, put them in chart format by main subject area (English, Mathematics, Science, History/Social Science, Foreign Language, Fine Arts, Physical Education and Miscellaneous), and noted the number of credits needed to graduate. I will come back to this chart later.

I also bookmarked or downloaded the content expectations for each major subject, available at the Michigan Department of Education high school website. You could try doing a Google search for this information, or check your state's department of education website. I believe that most states make this information available to everyone. I may or may not use this information, but I know where to find it if I need it.

The next step for me was to compare the high school course recommendations of some major colleges with the state of Michigan's requirements. Since Nathan does not yet know exactly what career he would like to pursue, I chose to look at three popular colleges that vary in the rigidity of their admission requirements. I started at each college's "admissions" page to find this information. Many colleges offer helpful pamphlets with high school course recommendations. I added the requirements for each college to the chart I mentioned above, giving me a quick visual of what colleges look for compared to our state's graduation requirements. We will continue to look at other college's recommendations as we prayerfully narrow down Nathan's career aspirations. I just started with this last year so that I would have a basic idea of what to look for in high school curricula.

CLEP Testing

I found a series of posts by Jeannie Fulbright about CLEP testing that piqued my interest (links to these posts are below). I had heard of CLEP testing and dual enrollment, but really had not done much research about either of these options. Again, you should check your state requirements for home schoolers to see if there are any restrictions. I posted links to some helpful articles below; you can also do a Google search and find tons of information. You might want to do a general search for CLEP testing and dual enrollment and then do a search for more state-specific information.

I have read enough to know that I am interested in CLEP testing, so I went to the same three college websites that I listed in my chart and checked their CLEP policies. I found this information at the admissions sections of the college websites. I was able to download files listing the CLEP tests that each college accepts, minimum scores, and the equivalent college course. If we decide to pursue CLEP testing, I will download the latest CLEP policies from college(s) of interest, compare them and decide which ones are worth taking. We may plan some science and math courses around CLEP tests, as these scores may also be used on our student's high school transcript.

I did everything that I outlined in these first two posts over Nathan's 7th and 8th grade school years. If it seems like it took a lot of time, be assured that it did not. A few strategic searches and a few minutes putting a chart together gave me a quick overview of our state's public school graduation requirements and a few college's high school recommendations. A little searching at the same colleges' websites furnished CLEP test information, which I downloaded and bookmarked for future reference. The real work will be planning Nathan's course of study and possibly some customized courses.

Over the last month or two, I have been doing more research and reading, and we are currently in the process of preparing a course of study for Nathan's high school years. The next post will give our current progress in creating this course of study. I have been reading an invaluable book called Homeschooling: The Teen Years, by Cafi Cohen, that is helping me put high school into perspective. I was able to obtain this at my library, and I highly recommend it.

CLEP Testing and Dual Enrollment Articles

Articles by Jeannie Fulbright

College Without Compromise book review

CLEP v. Dual Enrollment

CLEP for College

CLEP Tests

Articles by The HomeScholar

Search results for CLEP at The HomeScholar's blog

How to Homeschool College

Other Articles

College at 14: spin-off comments 2 at The Mom with Brownies - Shelly uses dual enrollment and explains it quite thoroughly here (hat tip to Kristie, who linked to this post quite a while ago - I can't find her post now)

* Update: Kristie noted in the comments that The Mom with Brownies does not do dual enrollment. However, her son did start college courses at 14, and her post would be helpful to those considering beginning college early or dual enrollment if your state allows it. Thanks for the clarification, Kristie!

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Jul. 17, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Sawickis

I wanted to clarify that Shelly does not use dual enrollment for her son.

After doing some research of her own she found that most colleges will not accept or count dual enrollment classes as college classes. And if they do, then they don't count them as high school classes. I'm not sure if it varies state by state or not.

Andrea you've given a ton of great links for anyone getting ready for homeschooling in highschool.

Kristie

Aug. 4, 2008 - Wow!

Posted by Angela

I was just going to mention Lee Binz at The HomeScholar. She did an awesome class on this very subject at the Heart of the Matter Virtual Conference. Good luck!!

Angela
http://memoirsofachaoticmommy.blogspot.com

Aug. 5, 2008 - You wrote my heart today

Posted by bbullard

Our oldest will be an 8th grader beginning tomorrow, and it sounds as if you and I have been flies on each other's walls. In the past two weeks, even, we got back our Iowa Basic Skills results (I test the kids every two years), and I just finished a rich and thought-provoking conference with Heart of the Matter. In fact, the Home Scholar (I forget her actual name) was one of the speakers, and I am so glad that my internet didn't go out when she spoke (I lost it the day before). She was awesome.

Anyway, one of the things she said which stuck with me was to prepare your children for college whether they plan to go or not. We have planted seeds in our children since they were preschoolers, taking them on college tours and talking about what college is like. But the other side of that is, for those who are not going to college, the education you give them now will be the last formal education they receive unless they make a different choice later; why not give them a rich learning environment with interesting living books and life challenges? I had never thought in this way before, but it made perfect sense.

Anyway, I'd love to with you more offline about some of your choices and about Homeschool Tracker. I've not used it, but I know you and another parent on HSB do, and I'm curious about whether it would be a useful tool for me in tracking the oldest's years in school. This would be our practice year before high school. Of course, Texas is a much friendlier hsing state than Michigan, but I have the exact same list of roles that you do, including a part-time job and a business to run, and I need a tool that can track without being overwhelming.

I have your email and will write you offline so as not to take up too much space here. God bless you, Andi.

Belinda @ With a Taste of Chocolate

Preparing for High School, pt. 1

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:03:00 +0000

Nathan is going to be entering ninth grade this fall, and for the last year or two Rob and I have been trying to prepare ourselves and Nathan for high school. It has always sounded so scary to me. I find myself second-guessing the way we have handled his education so far and laboring over a high school plan. Should we follow Tapestry of Grace strictly? This would be easiest for me, but possibly not best for our son. How far should he go in science and math, and where should we begin in these subjects? How will we schedule time for him to pursue his main interest, music? How will we determine grades? Should he go to college, and, if so, should we pursue dual enrollment, CLEP testing or AP courses?

I am sure that most homeschoolers are faced with at least some of these questions, and I also realize that there is no one answer for any one student or family. That being said, I have decided to share some of the resources and ideas that I have found to be helpful, as well as what we have decided so far. These are just my thoughts and experiences. I do not believe that there is any one "right way" to homeschool; we are all too diverse for that. Nathan is our oldest, so he will be our first child in high school. In other words, we still have a lot to learn!

As Nathan still is not sure what type of career he would like to pursue, we are beginning with a college prep type high school course. However, we also want to give him plenty of time to pursue his interests and passions; we do not want to lock him into a college prep course if the Lord has something else for him. We are still in the process of preparing a course of study, so we do not have all of this hammered out yet.

Additionally, all of these plans are being bathed in prayer. We believe that God has a purpose for each of our children and we have the opportunity to help ease or direct them into that purpose. Because of this, our journey towards high school and life after secondary education will most likely look very different for each child. Please do not take my experiences as firm advice; I am really just sharing what we have done so far. If any of you who are experienced at homeschooling high schoolers have input, please feel free to share it.

Our Preparation in Organization and Grading

Once Nathan began "seventh grade," I decided that we should be a little bit more organized in keeping track of his assignments, developing good habits that would make writing his transcript less difficult when the time comes. Michigan does not require testing or submission of portfolios at this time, although I have always kept samples of work that could be organized into a portfolio if necessary. We began putting completed work in binders organized by subject and I began using Homeschool Tracker Plus to record everyone's progress. I did not keep up with Homeschool Tracker very well at that time, probably because I was trying to enter each and every assignment for all four children. As a full-time wife, mother, homeschooler and homemaker, as well as a part-time medical transcriptionist and part-time church worker, trying to keep up with entering assignments became overwhelming. However, we did have at least some of Nathan's work in one binder that was fairly well organized, which was a beginning. It was really a trial run anyway.

Last summer, before Nathan's eighth grade year, I decided to use the lesson plan and course tools of Homeschool Tracker Plus, setting up courses and entering lesson plans for Unit 1 of Tapestry of Grace. I did well with Unit 1, but fell behind for Unit 2. At the end of November, I quit doing medical transcription and was able to enter all of the Unit 3 information. At that time, I decided that I would only enter assignments for Nathan and Jordan, as they are doing the dialectic level of TOG. Of course, I also entered information for other academics, but I focused primarily on entering courses for Tapestry of Grace because it covers several subjects and I wanted "practice" keeping track of them. I find that other subjects, like math, are much easier to keep track of if you are using a textbook. We will be finishing Tapestry of Grace Year 3 this summer, and I have not yet entered the Unit 4 information. If I can get to it, then I will enter it. Otherwise, I am not going to stress over it. Nathan and I will have to work on a feasible plan for keeping up with his work; I will post about that after we have done it. All in all, trying various organizational methods has helped me to see what will and will not work for us, so I do not think it has been a total waste of time.

Nathan had also asked for grades at the end of seventh grade, so I set up a grading system for Tapestry of Grace based on points. If you are interested, you will find it here. We have not followed it strictly; I just wanted to have written guidelines for myself. I recently discovered that Michigan's new high school graduation requirements focus on "proficiency in expectations, not seat time." (Michigan Merit Curriculum High School Graduation Requirements) Many homeschoolers seem to focus on mastery for "grading" or passing our students. I was very encouraged when I saw that the public schools in Michigan are now doing the same thing. I am reevaluating evaluation strategies for unit study type subjects based on my research. Most states, including Michigan, make downloads of course expectations available. They are boring to read (imo), but would make good checklists for those interested in putting together their own courses.

Evaluating High School Readiness

In addition to "practicing" organizing and grading Nathan's work, we sat down together last September (the beginning of his eighth grade year) and evaluated his readiness for high school subject matter. Math and writing were the weak points.

I love the "Living Math" approach, but I have never been successful in implementing it (sigh). We put together an eclectic plan for math using living math books, a video tutoring program that my husband won at an HSB contest a couple of years ago and some Key to... Series materials. He made quite a bit of progress using the Key to... books, but other than that there was not much progress. After some research and discussion with Rob and Nathan, and evaluation of Nathan's math progress, we decided to order Teaching Textbooks Math 7 in March. Nathan is halfway through the program right now and is doing well. Jordan (finishing seventh grade) is also doing the program. It looks like TT Math 7 will be enough to prepare them for Algebra I, but I will know more once Nathan completes the program. The question at that time will be which Algebra program to use. That, however, will be a topic for another post.

Now for writing.... This has always been a struggle with the boys. The girls write voluntarily and often, but the boys hate writing. The plan was to stick with the Tapestry of Grace writing assignments, which are excellent. However, as usual, I had difficulty keeping up with the evaluation and Nathan fell "behind." As I look back, though, his writing has improved and he did quite a bit more than I realized. I highly recommend downloading and reading the free copy of Teaching Your Children to Write, available at Cardamom Publishers. This is an encouraging 4-page article that has helped me keep my focus and not stress out about writing. I have it printed out and available for when I need to get back on track with this subject.

This post is longer than I thought it would be, so I will turn it into a series. This sums up some of the organization and evaluation strategies we pursued during Nathan's middle school years. In the next post, I will detail some of what we have discussed and planned over the last couple of months, eventually followed by a post covering our plan of action for ninth grade.

Helpful Related Websites and Internet Articles

Google "your state's graduation requirements" to find all kinds of helpful information

The HomeScholar Helper (a very encouraging and helpful website - sign up for her newsletter here)

Planning High School Courses (a Heart of the Matter article written by the HomeScholar Helper - see a list of her HOTM articles here)

Answers: High School Homeschooling, by Dr. Ruth Beechick

Homeschooling Thru High School (HSLDA - tons of info, including developing a plan, evaluating credits, and much more)

High School Resources (at about.com - quite an eclectic mix of articles)

Older Kids at A to Z Home's Cool Homeschooling (another great list of articles)

HomeschoolBlogger Comments
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Jul. 8, 2008 - Loamhedge

Posted by pureone

You can read it as soon as I finish it I am almost done
LOVE

Pureone

Jul. 8, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by ApplesofGold

Wow-this is great info. I'm not there yet, but will save your post for future reference. Holly

Jul. 8, 2008 - We are walking together...

Posted by proverbsmomof3

on the road through high school. I'm very lucky though, I taught HS in a private school for 3 years, and my oldest finished his senior year homeschooling, so I have a good idea of what is expected. That doesn't mean I'm confident, just have a bit of a clue.
Don't know if you knew this but HSTracker has Yahoo groups where people post their lesson plans to share. You may find some already set up there that you can use or adjust as you need. Makes it a lot easier when people share. LOL
Love all the website links you shared. Gives me some new reading. Thanks.

Jul. 9, 2008 - You sure are...

Posted by mom2two

...organized and ready to go! Thanks for the book suggestion. This high school season is going to be a journey, but I know God has already made plans for each of our children. We just need to remember to put our trust in Him each and every day.

Good luck on your journey!
Yvonne :o)

Jul. 9, 2008 - Hey there

Posted by SuperAngel

I hope you get everything figured out and I hope Nathan will enjoy his high school years!

Thanks for coming by and reading the carnival!
Prayers and Blessings,
Miss Amanda
http://superangelsblog.com

Jul. 15, 2008 - thanks

Posted by Anonymous

Very informative post! I enjoyed reading about how you grade your unit study program. I had been wondering how we would do this with MFW this year.

Kysha
www.lovesschool.com

Jul. 30, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by lahbluebonnet

My dd is starting 9th grade and we've been making decisions too. She does know what she wants to study in college. She's had learning delays but has really come up to speed with our curriculum choices the last few years. A major decision for us this year has been how much TOG work to do in R level and how much in D. We now think we have a plan there.
Blessings,
Laurie

Outdoor Hour: An Outdoor Picnic

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Sat, 31 May 2008 23:33:00 +0000

We finally completed the tenth Outdoor Hour Challenge assignment, which was to have a picnic. This one took me a while to get to; every time I planned to eat outdoors, it rained. I guess I will have to learn to be a bit more spontaneous with our picnicking!

We had a family fishing trip planned in northern Michigan over Memorial Day weekend, complete with outdoor eats, so we finally had our "picnic." We did get some pictures of hot dogs being roasted, but forgot to take pics of people eating them (probably because we were too busy eating ourselves).

Rob and I saw a beautiful snail and a spider on a walk in the woods (click on an image for a larger pic).

We did see some insect life to go with our focus area, some still to be identified.

As an added bonus from kingdom Animalia, we saw two green frogs (one of which was my buddy for the weekend; I was able to identify him by his banjo-like call), a baby painted turtle, and a turtle egg (I think something must have dug into the nest and eaten the other eggs since the nest was open and there was only one egg).

Look at these beautiful red-winged blackbirds! The brown one is the female, and the black one is the male (and, no, I didn't know what the brown bird was until we looked it up at home).

I almost forgot the fish (probably because I didn't catch any)!

Moving onto kingdom Plantae, I was able to capture pictures of ferns in three different stages of development!

Here is some more plant life:

My sister found a morel, and her boyfriend found a patch of about five of them. Yummy!

Kathryn and I collected several rocks that we will work on identifying.

We finally had time to pull out our field guides and work on identification, but we were unable to identify everything in one session.

If you are looking for a simple and gentle way to incorporate nature study into your schedule, I highly recommend the Outdoor Hour Challenge. This is the first time I have been successful at sticking with nature study for a decent length of time. Thanks so much for hosting these challenges, Barb!

~Andrea

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Jun. 1, 2008 - Picnics come in all shapes and sizes

Posted by HarmonyArtMom

This was a great picnic! So many things to observe and learn about as well. I am really glad that you are enjoying your challenges and hope that you keep them up. I enjoy reading your entries for each challenge.

Insects are the hardest to identify, at least I think so.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Jun. 3, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by lahbluebonnet

Wow!We can’t find fun stuff like that around here! Hmmmm, I wonder if we can do the green challenge this summer!

Blessings,

Laurie

Jun. 10, 2008 - Success with Nature Study

Posted by bbullard

...and what success you have had! These pictures are beautiful, and I'm sure that your children are learning immensely from your picnic and other travels.We hit the beach on yesterday and had similar fun, too, until the oldest lost her glasses while helping her younger sister.We have a (not-so-funny) joke around here that every time unmarked money comes into the house, we have some emergency that seeks to take it.All plans of the Lord to keep us on our knees, you know?God bless you, Andrea.

Hey, by chance are you Bibliophile on a homeschool to college e-mail list?I see that name and noticed your Avatar, so I thought, what are the chances.

Write back when you can.

My Most Exciting Homeschool Moment

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Fri, 30 May 2008 19:36:00 +0000

This week Heart of the Matter wants us to share our Most Exciting Homeschool Moment. My most exciting homeschooling moment(s) was watching my children unlock the secret of those magical letters called the alphabet and open the door into a whole new world of enjoyment and learning. I will always treasure the moment when reading "clicked" for each child, and I am so grateful that I was there for it.

If you would like to participate in this week's HOTM meme, go here.

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May. 30, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Margaret

Yes, that is a wonderful moment in any mom's life, isn't it? :-)

May. 31, 2008 - Reading

Posted by Morning Rose

That's exciting when the kids learn how to read. I'm glad I was there when my then 6-year-old son learned how to read on his own.

Blogger Friend School #29

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Thu, 29 May 2008 20:16:00 +0000

This is the last Blogger Friend School assignment for the year! Thank you to Tamara for starting this, and to Nancy for continuing it.

Here is this week's assignment from Nancy's blog:

Well, it's here, the last week of BFS until next September. Tamara and I have talked and she doesn't feel like she can commit to the BFS next year, so I'll be continuing on with it until she's more able to do so. I hope you'll all sign up to participate again in the Fall. Our participation fell off quite dramatically once the warmer weather set in but I've thoroughly enjoyed being the hostess for this meme. For this assignment I thought I'd follow suit and use what Tamara did for last year's assignment.

From Training Hearts

With summer rapidly approaching, (UGH…I feel the heat already), many homeschoolers are finishing up and planning some summer events.

Please share this week on your blog, some of your plans for keeping cool, relaxing, vacationing and planning ahead for the upcoming school year. Add your favorite verse for this assignment.

We homeschool year-round, with our summer school schedule being sporadic and light. We will finish up a light version of Tapestry of Grace Year 2 Unit 4, do a little writing and math, and enjoy our Creator's outdoor world.

June and July are always very active and adventurous months at our house. We are planning our church's vacation Bible school and a large annual outreach, both of which take place at the end of June. My husband, two sons and I are going on a short-term missions trip in July, while the girls spend a fun time with my parents-in-law. August should find us finishing up our light school schedule and relaxing, while I finish planning the start of a new school year.

We grabbed a quick vacation over Memorial Day weekend, fishing and relaxing with my family in northern Michigan. It was a wonderful trip; just what we needed before plunging into our busy season!

"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty." Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah 6:5-8

HomeschoolBlogger Comments
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May. 29, 2008 - Hi Andrea,

Posted by nancysnook

Thank you for your comment. I was hoping to honor Tamara for her dedication to the BFS by carrying on with it during her time to rest. We start school back in late July, so we actually get a total of about a month away from book work during parts of May and June. Thank you for your post and for your participation this year! It's been great having you and I pray that you'll participate again next year. I've got a little surprise planned for the new year.

Nancy

May. 29, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by bbullard

Our summers look a lot alike. We have a trip in June such that we will also see family. July is a missions month for us (a family first), and I just found out that I may have to adjust our August start date because of a dance workshop that the kids are looking forward to involving themselves in. I am determined to not take on too much, but it looks as if alot is chasing me!

We hit the 90's as of yesterday, so it looks as if we're in for a hot one! God bless you, Andi!

Belinda @ With a Taste of Chocolate

May. 30, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by MoreLittleWilsons

May Adonai truly speak to you as you serve him on His Mission trip..I've never been, one day I hope to, one day I hope my children will too. I certainly am blessed as I serve him right here in my own community..

blessings this summer

Homeschool Hi-Lights: Gone Fishing!

andijeane@yahoo.com (Andrea) — Tue, 27 May 2008 19:49:00 +0000

Ellen from Fun Learning is hosting a meme called Homeschool Hi-Lights. To participate, write a post about a highlight from your past week of home learning, then go to Fun Learning's Homeschool Hi-Lights post for the week and add your post's permalink to Mr. Linky.

Our highlight last week was a fishing trip to northern Michigan with my family. We went up Friday and came home Monday (the reason for the lateness of this post). Nathan is the only one who caught a fish other than my sister's boyfriend, but it was a great time nonetheless; the weather was beautiful and it was so nice to enjoy the outdoors together. The pics of the kids are a bit blurry because Rob took them from across the pond, but I decided to share them anyway.

We had some great nature study opportunities while there. As soon as we arrived at the pond, the kids found a turtle's egg in the side of a huge pile of sand. We also saw and identified a couple of green frogs, a painted turtle, and a lot of beautiful red-winged blackbirds. All of our nature study pictures will be on my next Outdoor Hour Challenge post.

I enjoyed a personal highlight too: I checked out Anne of Green Gables from the library in audio book format, as that is our current family read-aloud and I thought it would be fun to finish it on the trip. After listening for a couple of minutes, everyone said that they like the way I read it better. I thought it was well done personally, but it was a nice, unlooked-for compliment. We did finish the audio book and everyone enjoyed it.

Have a wonderful and adventurous week of learning!

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May. 27, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Shari Ellen

That sounds like a great family outing. I’m glad that the weather cooperated. Finding a turtle egg would have been a huge hit with our family.
http://ellenfunlearning.blogspot.com/